Re: "Nationalism blinds us to new truths", (Opinion, Oct 16).
Yes, nationalism relies on the fantasies, follies, fabrications and falsehoods. Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher put it like this: "Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority."
In this context, Thailand is not alone. Its unknown past seems to be one long story of the military sweeping up or down, replacing warriors on raging elephants. As indicated by the MORI survey, people in other countries also take pride in their unknown past.
Kuldeep Nagi
Put it to the forum
With possible elections in late 2018, we have extremely little time for Thai political parties to inform and woo voters. The Swiss have a way to do this impartially, efficiently, and effectively, through a series of debates, called "The Arena".
Each session lasts 60-90 minutes, with teams answering questions posed by the moderator and responding to their opponents' answers before experts and the general public. The emphasis is always on shedding light and not heat. The moderator is crucial, for he must keep participants on-topic -- including being strong enough to curb rabble-rousing and personal attacks. He must be expert in the subject of each session so he can set questions that ferret out unclear points or weaknesses on either side. Thus, for example, he must be able and willing to expose participants who cover up errors or pass the buck. He may ask the audience for insights, and must always be impartial.
Participants may propose whatever they wish, even what the audience may abhor, without repercussion, so long as it is within the law. This is because the most effective way to turn voters away from repellent ideas is to expose the ideas to the hard light of day, in the form of questioning by the "other" team and moderator -- and if the opposing team and moderator cannot do that, then maybe the idea has substance well worth consideration!
Hecklers will be shown the door instantly so the audience can focus on the substance of each team's proposition. If the hecklers present a previously unheard but significant view, they may present their side at an open slot in the series.
These debates can be extremely low-budget, such as in a university auditorium, and posted on YouTube afterwards. Such debates will give voters opportunities to make informed decisions, both at election time and thereafter.
Burin Kantabutra
Keep out the work-shy
I was reading the government is planning on bringing in a training programme to improve employability for low-income earners.
I live in a relatively well-off neighbourhood which has about 40 one-rai compounds and the residents, including ourselves, are somewhat elderly and almost always in need of a handyman to do things like trimming trees, cutting the grass, plumbing repairs, electrical work, painting, and so on. We can almost never find anyone to do them.
There is one young guy who used to be a motorcycle taxi driver in our neighbourhood who we pay 600 baht a day to work occasionally, but there is such a demand for his services that he is almost never available when we need him. Admittedly, this is not high-paying work or permanent employment, but there must be at least a few people interested in doing small jobs like this if they really do need money.
My Thai wife says the problem is that most low-income earners just don't want to work and the government should make sure they train only people who really want to work and not just choose people who are poor.
Helpless in Bang Khen
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